I bought the little, grey NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1988 for my then four year-old son. I assured my wife that the side-scrolling, leaping and bopping antics of the cute plumber Mario, would improve our son’s hand-eye coordination and keep him amused for hours.

I was right of course, on both counts, but what failed to appear in my crystal ball was the vision of me staring mesmerized at the television screen, hunched over a video game controller, elbows flying, shoulders twitching and fingers frantically stabbing at tiny buttons. It appeared that my Pinball Wizard gene, which dominated my entertainment hours in the 60's and 70's had not disappeared as I once thought. It was merely dormant, awaiting the correct environmental and physiological stimuli before re-appearing in a new, slightly- mutated form.

Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt, the games that came with the system, were bad enough. All three of us took our turns in front of the television, grudgingly giving way to the next-in-line when we “died.” My wife’s interest waned over the weeks, and surprisingly, so did my son’s. Mine might have as well, if I hadn’t purchased Zelda II- The Adventures of Link.

This game was as different from Mario as haute cuisine is to fast food. It had a plot. There was a hero (me). There was a princess to be rescued, treasure to be found, hordes of monsters to destroy, devious puzzles to solve and at the end, a fiendishly-diabolical villain to be vanquished. It was one of the first video games to come with a battery which enabled players to save their progress and return later to continue their quest from that point.

It took me countless hours of furious button-smashing spread out over several weeks before I got to the end of the game. My family had become resigned to the sight of my back, sitting in a kitchen chair four feet from the television screen. They became caught up in my excitement, groaning loudly at each untimely “death,” cheering me on as I slowly overcame a succession of obstacles and neared my goal.

My final battle with the evil Ganon was epic. My euphoria as I finally triumphed could not have been any greater had I been the first to conquer Everest. But my victory came with a cost, and a heavy one it was.

Both of my thumbs were blistered and sprained, picking up a cup of coffee required both hands and a lot of planning. Worse, although sharing my joy and pain, my wife informed me that she would like to watch an actual program on the television once in a while.

Suddenly, I understood post-partum depression. The elation at the culmination of my long labour gave way to pain and an awful, empty feeling.

One problem was easily remedied. We bought a second, smaller TV for the family room and hooked up the Nintendo to that. Gradually my thumbs got better, but the damage had been done. Even the relatively simple jumping of the Mario game awakened the now-familiar aching. My days as a fast-twitch player had come to a crashing halt, at the tender age of 37.

Disconsolate, I wandered to my local game rental store to pick up something new for my son to try. The owner, Linda, was familiar with my sad tale and broke into a wide grin as I entered. Brandishing a new game, she announced that my troubles were over. Its name was Dragon Warrior and Linda was correct.

Dragon Warrior was the first true console RPG ( Role Playing Game) to hit our shores. A huge hit in Japan, Nintendo was reluctant to translate it and bring it over to North America, thinking its slow, deliberate pacing would be unsuited to its target audience here. Although the Zelda series had RPG elements: puzzles to solve, a quest and several mini-quests within the main one; its actual gameplay was much more action-oriented than a traditional RPG. Combat in a true role-player is thoughtful and turn-based. The player can take a little time to decide which action to perform and then do it with a single push of a button.

I fell in love with Dragon Warrior and my thumbs thanked me. I played long into the night, every night. I thought about it at work, planning my next move, devising new strategies for defeating that boss monster who consistently bested me. I was honestly surprised that my friends and siblings did not seem to share my enthusiasm. I endured much good-natured heckling about being hooked on a “kids’” pastime. I didn’t read nearly as much as I used to and most of my formerly-favourite television programs went unwatched. As the years passed, most of my friends and family accepted the fact that playing video games was what I “did." A couple expressed serious concern that I was wasting my time and risked terminal vegetation.

I used an analogy that was familiar and true in my explanation. A good role playing game is very much like an interactive novel. There are some basic elements that remain essentially unchanged from game to game. The hero, and often his/her party members always start each game inexperienced and poorly equipped. Some calamity occurs and the adventurers set out on a series of quests leading to the ultimate conquest of some dread evil-doer.

By fighting battles which increase in difficulty as the game progresses, the player earns gold with which he can purchase better weapons and armor. Treasure chests can yield valuable items or spells for magic users. Story lines can be complex and characters fully-fleshed, complete with differing personalities. Some parts of the better games can be laugh-out-loud funny and others can be very moving. Many of the best games are non-linear, meaning the player can roam about the “world” encountering other people, exploring other towns in a nearly-random fashion while the story slowly reveals itself.

Flash-forward to today.

I have another son now, a 14-year old. Our basement wreck-room is now home to three television sets to which five video game systems are hooked. We have two other portable hand-held systems. I am typing this on a computer for which we have also purchased some games.

Although not as popular among the younger players as racing games and “beat-em ups” (the under-25 set still drives the market) RPGs have carved out their own niche and their adherents are fiercely devoted to their favorite genre. Along the way I have also come to enjoy some of the war-based strategy games, especially those set in feudal Japan or ancient China. I can now spend many happy hours either battling orcs or cheerfully taking over the world.

Last year, the video game industry grossed more money than the movie business. That trend is likely to continue. It’s not only teens and twenty-somethings who go to movies and there are a lot of slow-thumbed, older gamers like me who derive a lot of enjoyment from playing video and computer games. They are just a little shy, and perhaps ashamed to admit to this guilty pleasure. Not me.

My name is Frank, and I am a Vidiot.